Feigning Illness | Continued Remuneration Fraud | Employee Verification by Detectives from Frankfurt

With the now almost annual increases in health insurance contributions, not only the insured are understandably annoyed, but, as few people realise, employers may soon be affected as well. Within the SPD, more and more voices have long been calling for health insurance contributions to be shared equally between employees and employers once again. For the insured, this would certainly represent an improvement on the current situation, as next year they will have to hand over and shoulder alone an increase of up to 0.6 per cent of their insurance contribution, calculated on their income. For employers, however, such equal contributions would constitute a double burden that has so far been avoided.

The problem is not the division of employees’ health insurance contributions but the fact that employers already have to bear significant financial burdens: In the first six weeks of continued remuneration for employees certified unfit for work, they shoulder the full cost without any contribution from the health insurers or the incapacitated employees (companies under U1 excepted). And based on experience, not only many employers but also the detectives of Kurtz Investigations Frankfurt can confirm that not all medical certificates are lawfully obtained.

Continued Remuneration in Case of Illness: Annual Costs of 51 Billion Euros for Employers

State – let alone statutory – health insurers stubbornly refuse to alleviate employers’ burdens by contributing earlier than after six weeks to the costs incurred through continued remuneration, that is, payments without work performed, even though a not insignificant proportion of these ongoing costs is likely being paid to employees who only pretend to be ill, as Kurtz Investigations Frankfurt can confirm on the basis of many surveillance operations. According to dpa, these costs amount to 51 billion euros per year, which employers must shoulder alone.

These 51 billion euros are paid to employees who do not provide (or cannot provide) a service in return due to their medical certificate. This creates a loss in the billions not only for the employers concerned but for the entire German economy and its capital. Consequently, Eric Schweitzer, President of the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (DIHK), told the Rheinische Post: “If the government wants to reintroduce equal financing and increase the employer’s contribution, we must also talk about equal financing of continued remuneration.” He continues by stating that this sum corresponds to a multiple of what employees have to contribute in additional payments to their health insurance funds.

Despite Medical Certificate: Employees Take on Secondary Jobs

A not insignificant share of the 51 billion euros incurred through the ongoing payment of employees certified unfit for work is claimed without justification: While genuinely ill employees naturally have a legitimate right to continued pay, more and more cases are emerging in which employees commit continued remuneration fraud. During their certified period of incapacity for work, they go on a – thus paid – holiday or take on unauthorised secondary employment to obtain double income.

To address these growing issues, it is advisable to engage the private and commercial detectives of Kurtz Detective Agency Frankfurt, who can establish and document continued remuneration fraud using various investigative methods in a manner admissible in court. These methods include online investigations via social networks, namely checks and comparisons of the dates associated with the medical certificate with postings, photos and comments that may indicate fraudulent behaviour. Additionally, the detectives of Kurtz Investigations Frankfurt naturally operate predominantly on site, observing the suspicious employee at their residence or presumed secondary workplace and documenting their activities.

Brazen Behaviour Pays Off? Not if You Know What to Do.

No matter how much you trust your employees, there will always be black sheep. Thus, it may happen that a long-serving, diligent secretary turns out to be malingering after posting a holiday photo on Facebook during her certified leave; likewise, after regular sick leave and a necessary initial suspicion, the consistently conspicuous case worker can be observed and photographed by the private and commercial detectives of Kurtz Investigations Frankfurt as he spends his supposedly recovery-focused weekends at the gym, working out, and, to top it all, participates in bodybuilding competitions during two or three medical certificates per year. The damage caused by such fraudulent actions amounts, as mentioned, to sums in the double-digit billions, illustrating how much more money could be invested into development, research, or the growth of the German economy if these offences were curbed.

When Are Detectives Allowed to Investigate? The Initial Suspicion.

So when facing an employee who calls in sick several times per month and appears surprisingly refreshed after the weekend, how can one respond? Before commissioning a commercial investigation agency such as Kurtz Detective Agency Frankfurt, a justified initial suspicion must exist, as our detectives must be able to present a valid basis for suspicion in court to ensure that the documentation of continued remuneration fraud is admissible. Naturally, employees have a right to privacy, which may only be restricted if a concrete suspicion exists. If the employee in question always cites the same reasons or, conversely, always very different and highly unusual reasons for their sick leave (and these happen to be documented each time by the same – perhaps friendly – general practitioner), our Frankfurt detectives can be engaged.

In the best case for the company and the employee, the suspicion proves unfounded and the once-suspected employee is exonerated; in the economically preferable – since detective costs can be reimbursed – yet personally disappointing scenario, the continued remuneration fraud is indeed uncovered, documented and forwarded to the employer, which may lead to a warning or – in the more likely case of a clear breach of trust and financial damage to the company – even dismissal of the employee concerned. For questions about what constitutes a justified suspicion or any enquiries relating to the commissioning of the commercial detectives of Kurtz Investigations Frankfurt, our investigators are always at your disposal: +49 69 1201 8431.